[Coral-List] figures aquarium trade
Tim Wijgerde
t.wijgerde at coralscience.org
Thu Feb 12 09:02:17 EST 2009
Dear all,
thank you for your references. The UNEP-data are
somewhat dated, but I do not think these figures are unrepresentative for
the current trade. We will use this report as our main reference regarding
this issue.
Best
tim
p.s. related to the
Goreau topic; Thomas, I would agree that coral decalcification is
secondary to bleaching, but don't you think that the simple decrease in
aragonite saturation state will decrease coral growth long before its
starts dissolving? This would be another stressor for reefs, although not
killing them yet. This is already noticable in temperate seas, where arag
and calcite sats have already declined significantly and this is reflected
by a decreased growth of calcifying organisms.
Op Do, 12
februari, 2009 14:10, schreef coral-list-request at coral.aoml.noaa.gov:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Coral bleaching and
ocean acidification (Thomas Goreau)
> 2. figures aquarium trade
(Melissa K. Demetrikopoulos, Ph.D.)
> 3. FW: Coral Husbandry
book (Delbeek, Charles)
> 4. Re: Coral List Issue 6, Vol
9, Topic 3 (Aquarium statistics)
> (Noah DesRosiers)
> 5. Re: figures aquarium trade (Steve LeGore)
> 6. CO2
and tropical waters. (John Ware)
> 7. figures aquarium trade
Re: Coral-List Digest, Vol 6, Issue 9
> (Brian O'Gorman)
> 8. Re: Coral bleaching and ocean acidification (Thomas
Goreau)
> 9. Re: Coral-List Digest, Vol 6, Issue 9 figures in
aquarium
> trade (Brian O'Gorman)
>
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:02:11
-0500
> From: Thomas Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net>
>
Subject: [Coral-List] Coral bleaching and ocean acidification
>
To: coral-list coral-list <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>
Message-ID: <1C5194EF-B21E-4157-9756-BB2D7F2295B9 at bestweb.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed;
> delsp=yes
>
> Ocean acidification has become the
latest bandwagon fad to hit coral
> reefs, and is being claimed as
a "shocking new revelation" that will
> kill reefs and
dissolve the evidence.
>
> In fact there is nothing new
about knowledge of the problem, all
> carbonate chemists have
always known that CO2 is the major acid in the
> atmosphere and so
its concentration controls the equilibrium pH of the
> ocean,
along with the equilibrium with solid limestone minerals. More
>
than 30 years ago at Harvard we would make undergraduate geochemistry
> students routinely calculate the equilibrium decline in ocean pH
for
> doubling of CO2 as a homework problem! It is long known that
periods
> in the past with no coral reefs or limestone sediments
were caused by
> acidification, either due to higher atmospheric
CO2, or more often, to
> changes in ocean circulation that
resulted in CO2 build up in deep
> waters from decomposition of
organic matter in anoxic basins.
>
> But the fact is that
these changes take thousands of years to develop,
> because they
depend on the circulation time of the ocean and reaction
> rates
with deep sea sediments. The increase in direct surface
>
temperature is a far more serious and immediate threat to reefs than
> acidification. Acidification will only dissolve the dead
skeletons
> centuries to millenia after high temperatures kill the
corals, so
> focusing on acidification amounts to a red herring
and effectively
> ignores a far larger and more immediate
problem.
>
> Recently ?Declining coral calcification on
the Great Barrier
> Reef? (De'ath, Lough, Fabricius, 2009,
SCIENCE, 2 January, p. 116)
> shows field data convincingly
indicating a strong negative
> relationship between rising
temperatures and coral growth rates, and
> attributes decreasing
coral growth in the last two decades to
> declining ocean pH
caused by rising atmospheric CO2. Major flaws with
> this
hypothesis are not discussed.
>
> 1) Coral bleaching is
never mentioned. Yet there have been many
> episodes of mass coral
bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef in the last
> two decades, and
these are accurately predicted from high sea surface
>
temperatures (1, 2). Bleached corals stop skeletal growth (3) even if
> temperatures are not high enough to kill them. This is because
coral
> calcification as a function of temperature has a
temperature optimum
> that is only slightly below the bleaching
and death thresholds (4).
>
> 2) Tropical surface waters
are not in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2
> due to the strong
inverse relationship of CO2 solubility with
> temperature. As a
result tropical surface oceans have partial
> pressures of CO2
above equilibrium with the atmosphere, and are a
> SOURCE, NOT A
SINK, of atmospheric CO2 (5). CO2 dissolves in cold
> polar
waters, where it takes about a thousand years to upwell back to
>
surface waters. As a result of this natural ocean CO2 cycle, tropical
> surface waters will be the LAST part of the oceans where
limestone
> becomes undersaturated. Furthermore calcium carbonates
are anomalous
> minerals that become less soluble at high
temperatures, not more
> soluble like almost all other minerals
(6). Therefore the alarm about
> acidification effects on coral
reefs is based on fundamental
> misunderstanding of the CO2 cycle
in tropical surface waters. This is
> not to say that it is not an
important long-term problem, but only
> that it is trivial
compared to bleaching as a source of coral
> mortality and growth
decline.
>
> It is therefore likely that the decline in
coral calcification
> reported in the Science paper is due to
repeated temperatures above
> bleaching thresholds, which has
happened increasingly in the past two
> decades (2), and that
impacts of ocean acidity dissolving limestone
> will only take
place long after the corals are directly killed by high
>
temperature.
>
> There is no question that we need to
stabilize CO2 at safe levels
> immediately because IPCC has
seriously underestimated the sensitivity
> of temperature and sea
level to CO2 as shown by the paleoclimatic
> record (7). But that
is needed in order to take care of the immediate
> temperature
problem, not the long term acidification, at least as far
> as
coral reefs are concerned.
>
> If we take care of the CO2
stabilization in time to solve the
> bleaching problem, we will
not only save coral reefs from mass
> extinction, we will
automatically solve the ocean acidification
> problem. If we focus
on solving the acidification problem first, it
> will come far too
late to save coral reefs.
>
> 1) T. J. Goreau, & R.
L. Hayes, 1994, Coral bleaching and ocean "hot
> spots",
Ambio, 23: 176-180
>
> 2) T.J. Goreau, & R.L. Hayes,
2005, Global coral reef bleaching and
> sea surface temperature
trends from satellite-derived Hotspot
> analysis, World Resource
Review, 17: 254-293
>
> 3) T. J. Goreau & A. H.
Macfarlane, 1990, Reduced growth rate of
> Montastrea annularis
following the 1987-1988 coral bleaching event,
> Coral Reefs, 8:
211-215
>
> 4) C. Clausen, 1971, p. 246-269 in
Experimental Coelenterate Biology,
> H. M. Lenhoff and L.
Muscatine (Eds.), University of Hawaii Press,
> Honolulu
>
> 5) T. Takahashi, S. C. Sutherland, C. Sweeney, A. Poisson, N.
Metzl,
> B. Tilbrook, N. Bates, R. Wanninkhof, R. A. Feely, C.
Sabine, J.
> Olafsson, & Y. Nojiri, 2002, Global sea?air CO2
flux based on
> climatological surface ocean pCO2, and seasonal
biological and
> temperature effects, Deep Sea Research Part II:
Topical Studies in
> Oceanography, 49: 1601-1622
>
> 6) R. M. Garrels & C. R. Christ, 1965, Solutions, minerals,
and
> equilibria, 450 p., Harper & Row, New York.
>
> 7) T. J. Goreau, 1990, Balancing Atmospheric CO2, Ambio, 19:
230-236
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> President,
Global Coral Reef Alliance
> Coordinator, United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development
> Partnership in New
Technologies for Small Island Developing States
> 37 Pleasant
Street, Cambridge MA 02139
> 617-864-4226
>
goreau at bestweb.net
> http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:04:52 +0000
> From: "Melissa K. Demetrikopoulos, Ph.D."
<mdemetr at biophi.org>
> Subject: [Coral-List] figures
aquarium trade
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
Message-ID: <W71514163715481234371892 at webmail36>
>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>
Hi,
> The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may be
able to
> provide you with some info.
> They should have
data on the Marine Life (ornamental) permit catches as
> well as
data from aquaculture sales. These would not include items caught
> out of the state of Florida or the imports, but it might provide
you with
> some relevant data depending on what you are trying to
demonstrate.
> take care,
> Melissa
>
>
Melissa K. Demetrikopoulos, Ph.D.Director of Scientific Communications
> andChair, Division of Program Development and AssessmentInstitute
for
> Biomedical PhilosophyPO Box 1528Dunedin,
FL34697TEL:305-240-1522
> mdemetr at BioPhi.org
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message:
3
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:41:07 -0800
> From:
"Delbeek, Charles" <cdelbeek at calacademy.org>
>
Subject: [Coral-List] FW: Coral Husbandry book
> To:
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
>
<D6A836974C189D4AAFB7BBC34FA2BF6CE45259 at yoshi.calacademy.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Dear Colleague,
>
>
>
> I am
pleased to announce the book: Advances in Coral Husbandry in Public
> Aquaria is out. This book is published as a second volume of the
Public
> Aquarium Husbandry Series. The first one was the very
successful
> Elasmobranch
> Husbandry Manual.
>
>
>
> The coral book is a 444 page book with 47
chapters on many aspects of
> coral
> husbandry. The book
is written by authors that presented their work at the
> 1st
International Symposium of Coral Husbandry in Public Aquaria, Burgers
> Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands in 2007.
>
>
>
> All participants of the congress will get a free copy of
the book and will
> be
> sent over in the next weeks.
>
>
>
> Those that are interested in a
copy of the book please order via
> www.coralhusbandry.org
>
>
>
> I thank (together with Rob Leewis)
all the authors and reviewers of the
> book,
> since
without there help and commitment we would never have got this book
> finished.
>
>
>
> Best
regards,
>
>
>
> max
>
>
>
> Max Janse
>
> (Curator/Hoofd
Burgers' Ocean, Bush & Desert)
>
>
>
> Burgers' Zoo
>
> Antoon van Hooffplein 1
>
> 6816 SH Arnhem, The Netherlands
>
>
>
> ph: +31 (0)26 4450373
>
> fax +31 (0)26
4430776
>
> m.janse at burgerszoo.nl
>
>
www.burgerszoo.nl
>
> -------------- next part
--------------
> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was
scrubbed...
> Name: ATT1134658.txt
> Url:
>
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/pipermail/coral-list/attachments/20090211/410db952/attachment-0001.txt
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:08:12 -0500
> From:
Noah DesRosiers <njdesrosiers at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re:
[Coral-List] Coral List Issue 6, Vol 9, Topic 3 (Aquarium
>
statistics)
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
Message-ID:
>
<cff1674e0902111008i646398ceif748752758eee894 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
>
Tim,
>
> I too am always on the prowl. I went on a hunt
a year or so ago. I found
> a
> note in FAO's SOFIA 2006
about a study in 2000 (?) saying 'world wholesale
> value of live
freshwater and marine fishes was US $900 million - retail US
> $3
billion.' Better is an excellent production released in 2003 from the
> UNEP-WCMC, called "From Ocean to Aquarium." It tries to
sum up marine
> trade
> statistics from importer and
exporter data, admittedly coming up short,
> but
> still
an excellent start.
>
> It's here for free:
>
http://www.unep.org/PDF/From_Ocean_To_Aquarium_report.pdf
>
> Also see the Global Marine Aquarium Database mentioned in that
publication
> here:
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/marine/GMAD/index.html
> Though I'm not
sure when it was last updated...
>
> --
>
Cheers!
> Noah J.D. DesRosiers
> njdesrosiers at gmail.com
> +1 774 287 0622
> UMiami, FL, USA '09
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message:
5
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:55:35 -0500 (EST)
> From:
Steve LeGore <slegore at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re:
[Coral-List] figures aquarium trade
> To: "Melissa K.
Demetrikopoulos,Ph.D." <mdemetr at biophi.org>,
>
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID:
>
<15495364.1234374935955.JavaMail.root at mswamui-blood.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Here is a link to a paper by Andy Bruckner on the Caribbean
ornamental
> trade:
>
>
http://www.amlc-carib.org/meetings/procs/2003AMLC_Proceedings/14BrucknerImp.pdf
>
> Other perehaps relevant papers are available at
www.amlc-carib.com if you
> click on "Proceedings."
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
-----Original Message-----
>>From: "Melissa K.
Demetrikopoulos, Ph.D." <mdemetr at biophi.org>
>>Sent:
Feb 11, 2009 12:04 PM
>>To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>Subject: [Coral-List] figures aquarium trade
>>
>>Hi,
>>The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission may be able to
>> provide you with some info.
>>They should have data on the Marine Life (ornamental) permit
catches as
>> well as data from aquaculture sales. These would
not include items caught
>> out of the state of Florida or the
imports, but it might provide you with
>> some relevant data
depending on what you are trying to demonstrate.
>>take
care,
>>Melissa
>>
>>Melissa K.
Demetrikopoulos, Ph.D.Director of Scientific Communications
>>
andChair, Division of Program Development and AssessmentInstitute for
>> Biomedical PhilosophyPO Box 1528Dunedin,
FL34697TEL:305-240-1522
>> mdemetr at BioPhi.org
>>
>
>
> Steve LeGore, Ph.D.
> LeGore
Environmental Associates, Inc.
> 2804 Gulf Drive N.
>
Holmes Beach, Florida 34217 USA
> Executive Director,
>
Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean
> Tel:
941/778-4650
> Fax: 941/778-4761
> Cell: 941/447-8010
> GMT + 4 hrs
> http://www.devex.com/SteveLeGore
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:43:35 -0500
> From:
John Ware <jware at erols.com>
> Subject: [Coral-List] CO2 and
tropical waters.
> To: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov"
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
<49932A67.5050500 at erols.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
>
> Dear List,
>
> I agree with much of what Thomas Goreau has written (see
below), but I
> do not agree about his implication that tropical
surface waters can
> continue to be a source of CO2 as BOTH
temperature and pCO2 increase.
>
> Surely logic would
lead one to conclude that, at the very least, CO2
> emissions from
warm tropical surface waters must decrease at atmospheric
>
partial pressure of CO2 increases.
>
> To put the
argument in concrete terms, suppose, just for the sake of
>
discussion, that the warm surface waters were in equilibrium for
>
atmospheric CO2 for CO2 at 275 ppmv, salinity 33 ppt, temperature 30
oC.
> My computer program indicates that dissolved inorganic
carbon (DIC) is
> about 2.75 mM/L at a pH of 8.449. (Your
computer program will probably
> give different answers because we
use different constants or slightly
> different computational
methods. However, what counts is not absolute
> values, but
differences.)
>
> Now, suppose nothing else happens but
that pCO2 doubles to 550 ppmv. DIC
> increases by 23% to 3.37 mM/L
and pH decreases by about 0.2 units to 8.27.
>
> Of
course, global warming would increase water temperature and the
>
solubility of CO2 would decrease. So, by how much would temperature
> have to increase to offset the increase in DIC due to increased
pCO2?
> The answer is over 10 Co to approximately 40 oC!! (In
fact, my program,
> which could be wrong, indicates a temperature
increase to 45 oC.)
>
> And, of at least equal
importance, the pH stays almost the same as the
> temperature
increases, so the acidification due to increased pCO2 is NOT
>
affected by the increase in temperature.
>
> Now, a lot
of assumptions go into this type of calculations, and I would
>
appreciate my conclusions being confirmed or rejected if they are
wrong.
> However, the confirmation or rejection should be based
upon
> calculations, not hand waving arguments.
>
> John
>
> P.S. On slightly different, but related,
topic. The recent paper by
> Solomon et al (PNAS, 2009,
106:1704-1709) shows that, even if
> anthropogenic CO2 emissions
were to magically go to zero instantly, the
> effects continue for
at least 1000 yrs.
>
> J
>
> --
>
*************************************************************
>
* *
>
* John R. Ware, PhD *
>
* President *
>
* SeaServices, Inc. *
> * 19572 Club House Road
*
> * Montgomery Village, MD, 20886, USA
*
> * 301 987-8507
*
> * jware at erols.com
*
> * http://www.seaservices.org
*
> * fax: 301 987-8531
*
> *
*
> * Past
*
> * Treasurer and Member of the Council:
*
> * International Society for Reef
Studies *
> *
_ *
> *
| *
> *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *
> *
_|_ *
> *
| _ | *
>
* _______________________________| |________ *
>
* |\/__ Untainted by Technology \ *
>
* |/\____________________________________________/ *
>
*************************************************************
>
> Become a member of the International Society for Reef
Studies
> http://www.fit.edu/isrs/
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
Message: 7
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:44:45 -0900
> From:
"Brian O'Gorman" <brian.o'gorman at noaa.gov>
>
Subject: [Coral-List] figures aquarium trade Re: Coral-List Digest,
> Vol 6, Issue 9
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID: <49932AAD.9070806 at noaa.gov>
>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> This web site may help you.
>
>
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/species/index.htm
>
> Message:
3
> Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:15:01 +0100 (CET)
> From:
"Tim Wijgerde" <t.wijgerde at coralscience.org>
>
Subject: [Coral-List] figures aquarium trade
> To:
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Message-ID:
>
<50090.83.87.143.73.1234282501.squirrel at webmail.coralscience.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>
> Dear all,
>
> I am
currently preparing for a grant proposal, for
> which I need some
data on the current aquarium trade. Does anyone have
> access to
recent figures/estimations of the current aquarium trade? I am
>
looking for total estimates of the general marine aquarium trade and
the
> coral aquarium trade for my introduction.
>
> Thanks for your
> help,
>
> yours,
>
> Tim Wijgerde
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message:
8
> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:05:26 -0500
> From: Thomas
Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net>
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List]
Coral bleaching and ocean acidification
> To: Steve Mussman
<sealab at earthlink.net>
> Cc: coral-list coral-list
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Message-ID:
<C491474C-F751-4771-A45A-3DE3DB669A3F at bestweb.net>
>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed;
>
delsp=yes
>
> Dear Steve,
>
> Don't let
these flat earth neanderthals spin this fable without
> looking at
the real data. First, the fact that CO2 is a greenhouse gas
> is
the result of a fundamental physical law, not a hypothesis to be
>
tested. But the details of how fast it warms up depends on the
>
dynamics of heat flow in the entire ocean-atmosphere-ice-biosphere
> system, which is very complex with many time scales, the key
ones
> taking thousands of years. We have tabulated all of the
satellite sea
> surface temperature data for every major coral
reef area since 1982,
> and the correlation between bleaching and
high temperatures are
> crystal clear. In fact the Goreau-Hayes
HotSpot method has
> successfully predicted all major bleaching
events since we developed
> it in 1990. We have never received one
penny of grant money for this
> work, in fact it was largely
suppressed for political reasons, because
> the flat earthers were
in charge of the budget. Hopefully that will
> change.
>
> Best wishes,
> Tom
>
> On Feb 11,
2009, at 2:16 PM, Steve Mussman wrote:
>
>>
>> I am constantly in contact with skeptics of anthropologic
climate
>> change.I have studied this issue for many years, but
as an amateur
>> naturalist, not a scientist.
>>
>> Would you mind answering a few questions about your posting?
>>
>> Are you saying that you find a direct link
between tropical surface
>> water temperature increases and
atmospheric CO2 levels?
>>
>> If I understand you
correctly, you are expressing the concern that
>> we must
stabilize CO2 levels in order to control ocean water
>>
temperatures and therefore, protect the reef systems from mass
>> bleaching episodes.
>>
>> I am a diver
and environmentalist with a particular interest in
>> coral
reef ecology. I live in the Atlanta area and often discuss
>>
these issues with many divers who think that I'm totally off base by
>> insisting that we are directly affecting our climate by
ignoring
>> calls for controls on CO2 and other greenhouse
gases. I am told that
>> I have fallen for the hoax that is
being perpetrated by scientists
>> who are simply alarmists
attempting to increase their grant money.
>>
>>
Regards,
>> Steve
>> sealab at earthlink.net
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>>
From: Thomas Goreau <goreau at bestweb.net>
>>> Sent: Feb
11, 2009 11:02 AM
>>> To: coral-list coral-list
<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
>>> Subject:
[Coral-List] Coral bleaching and ocean acidification
>>>
>>> Ocean acidification has become the latest bandwagon fad to
hit coral
>>> reefs, and is being claimed as a
"shocking new revelation" that will
>>> kill reefs
and dissolve the evidence.
>>>
>>> In fact
there is nothing new about knowledge of the problem, all
>>>
carbonate chemists have always known that CO2 is the major acid in
>>> the
>>> atmosphere and so its concentration
controls the equilibrium pH of
>>> the
>>>
ocean, along with the equilibrium with solid limestone minerals. More
>>> than 30 years ago at Harvard we would make undergraduate
geochemistry
>>> students routinely calculate the
equilibrium decline in ocean pH for
>>> doubling of CO2 as a
homework problem! It is long known that periods
>>> in the
past with no coral reefs or limestone sediments were caused by
>>> acidification, either due to higher atmospheric CO2, or
more often,
>>> to
>>> changes in ocean
circulation that resulted in CO2 build up in deep
>>> waters
from decomposition of organic matter in anoxic basins.
>>>
>>> But the fact is that these changes take
thousands of years to
>>> develop,
>>> because
they depend on the circulation time of the ocean and reaction
>>> rates with deep sea sediments. The increase in direct
surface
>>> temperature is a far more serious and immediate
threat to reefs than
>>> acidification. Acidification will
only dissolve the dead skeletons
>>> centuries to millenia
after high temperatures kill the corals, so
>>> focusing on
acidification amounts to a red herring and effectively
>>>
ignores a far larger and more immediate problem.
>>>
>>> Recently ?Declining coral calcification on the Great
Barrier
>>> Reef? (De'ath, Lough, Fabricius, 2009, SCIENCE,
2 January, p. 116)
>>> shows field data convincingly
indicating a strong negative
>>> relationship between rising
temperatures and coral growth rates, and
>>> attributes
decreasing coral growth in the last two decades to
>>>
declining ocean pH caused by rising atmospheric CO2. Major flaws with
>>> this hypothesis are not discussed.
>>>
>>> 1) Coral bleaching is never mentioned. Yet there have been
many
>>> episodes of mass coral bleaching in the Great
Barrier Reef in the
>>> last
>>> two decades,
and these are accurately predicted from high sea surface
>>>
temperatures (1, 2). Bleached corals stop skeletal growth (3) even if
>>> temperatures are not high enough to kill them. This is
because coral
>>> calcification as a function of temperature
has a temperature optimum
>>> that is only slightly below
the bleaching and death thresholds (4).
>>>
>>> 2) Tropical surface waters are not in equilibrium with
atmospheric
>>> CO2
>>> due to the strong
inverse relationship of CO2 solubility with
>>> temperature.
As a result tropical surface oceans have partial
>>>
pressures of CO2 above equilibrium with the atmosphere, and are a
>>> SOURCE, NOT A SINK, of atmospheric CO2 (5). CO2 dissolves
in cold
>>> polar waters, where it takes about a thousand
years to upwell back to
>>> surface waters. As a result of
this natural ocean CO2 cycle, tropical
>>> surface waters
will be the LAST part of the oceans where limestone
>>>
becomes undersaturated. Furthermore calcium carbonates are anomalous
>>> minerals that become less soluble at high temperatures, not
more
>>> soluble like almost all other minerals (6).
Therefore the alarm about
>>> acidification effects on coral
reefs is based on fundamental
>>> misunderstanding of the
CO2 cycle in tropical surface waters. This is
>>> not to say
that it is not an important long-term problem, but only
>>>
that it is trivial compared to bleaching as a source of coral
>>> mortality and growth decline.
>>>
>>> It is therefore likely that the decline in coral
calcification
>>> reported in the Science paper is due to
repeated temperatures above
>>> bleaching thresholds, which
has happened increasingly in the past two
>>> decades (2),
and that impacts of ocean acidity dissolving limestone
>>>
will only take place long after the corals are directly killed by
>>> high
>>> temperature.
>>>
>>> There is no question that we need to stabilize CO2 at safe
levels
>>> immediately because IPCC has seriously
underestimated the sensitivity
>>> of temperature and sea
level to CO2 as shown by the paleoclimatic
>>> record (7).
But that is needed in order to take care of the immediate
>>> temperature problem, not the long term acidification, at
least as far
>>> as coral reefs are concerned.
>>>
>>> If we take care of the CO2 stabilization
in time to solve the
>>> bleaching problem, we will not only
save coral reefs from mass
>>> extinction, we will
automatically solve the ocean acidification
>>> problem. If
we focus on solving the acidification problem first, it
>>>
will come far too late to save coral reefs.
>>>
>>> 1) T. J. Goreau, & R. L. Hayes, 1994, Coral bleaching
and ocean "hot
>>> spots", Ambio, 23: 176-180
>>>
>>> 2) T.J. Goreau, & R.L. Hayes, 2005,
Global coral reef bleaching and
>>> sea surface temperature
trends from satellite-derived Hotspot
>>> analysis, World
Resource Review, 17: 254-293
>>>
>>> 3) T. J.
Goreau & A. H. Macfarlane, 1990, Reduced growth rate of
>>> Montastrea annularis following the 1987-1988 coral
bleaching event,
>>> Coral Reefs, 8: 211-215
>>>
>>> 4) C. Clausen, 1971, p. 246-269 in
Experimental Coelenterate Biology,
>>> H. M. Lenhoff and L.
Muscatine (Eds.), University of Hawaii Press,
>>>
Honolulu
>>>
>>> 5) T. Takahashi, S. C.
Sutherland, C. Sweeney, A. Poisson, N. Metzl,
>>> B.
Tilbrook, N. Bates, R. Wanninkhof, R. A. Feely, C. Sabine, J.
>>> Olafsson, & Y. Nojiri, 2002, Global sea?air CO2 flux
based on
>>> climatological surface ocean pCO2, and seasonal
biological and
>>> temperature effects, Deep Sea Research
Part II: Topical Studies in
>>> Oceanography, 49:
1601-1622
>>>
>>> 6) R. M. Garrels & C. R.
Christ, 1965, Solutions, minerals, and
>>> equilibria, 450
p., Harper & Row, New York.
>>>
>>> 7) T.
J. Goreau, 1990, Balancing Atmospheric CO2, Ambio, 19: 230-236
>>>
>>> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
>>>
President, Global Coral Reef Alliance
>>> Coordinator,
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development
>>>
Partnership in New Technologies for Small Island Developing States
>>> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139
>>>
617-864-4226
>>> goreau at bestweb.net
>>>
http://www.globalcoral.org
>>>
>>>
_______________________________________________
>>>
Coral-List mailing list
>>>
Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>>
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>
>
> Thomas J. Goreau, PhD
> President, Global Coral
Reef Alliance
> Coordinator, United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development
> Partnership in New Technologies for
Small Island Developing States
> 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA
02139
> 617-864-4226
> goreau at bestweb.net
>
http://www.globalcoral.org
>
>
>
>
------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:36:59 -0900
> From: "Brian
O'Gorman" <brian.o'gorman at noaa.gov>
> Subject: Re:
[Coral-List] Coral-List Digest, Vol 6, Issue 9 figures in
>
aquarium trade
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
Message-ID: <49936F2B.2040700 at noaa.gov>
> Content-Type:
text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>
You might try looking at the website
>
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/citestrade/ for some information.
>
>> 3. figures aquarium trade (Tim Wijgerde)
>>
>>
>>
>
>
------------------------------
>
>
_______________________________________________
> Coral-List
mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>
http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
> End of Coral-List Digest, Vol 6, Issue 10
>
*****************************************
>
Tim
Wijgerde, M.Sc.
CEO Coral Publications
www.coralscience.org
www.koraalwetenschap.nl
(Mozilla Firefox optimized)
info at coralscience.org
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